Holly to Bolly: Trump picks Terminator as latest bullying victim, security boosted for Oscars gaffe accountants and more

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  Reuters

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  AP

In typical Donald Trump fashion, the president tweeted Saturday that his replacement in the "The New Celebrity Apprentice" reality television show is to blame for its poor ratings and not, as Arnold Schwarzenegger says, Trump's continued involvement with the show.

Schwarzenegger, who replaced Trump as host of the show while the president remained its executive producer, announced Friday he's through. He said even if he were asked again, he wouldn't want to host the show. "With Trump being involved in the show, people have a bad taste and don't want to participate as a spectator or as a sponsor or in any other way support the show," he said in an interview with the Empire website. "It's a very divisive period now, and I think this show got caught up in all that division." But Trump, who has taunted Schwarzenegger for the show's poor performance in the ratings and even mocked him during an address at the National Prayer Breakfast, tweeted in response Saturday: "Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show." - AP

Security boosted for Oscars gaffe accountants

Security has been stepped up for the two accountants responsible for botching the Oscar best picture announcement, their company said on Thursday, as the ceremony's stage manager said the pair had to be pushed onstage to set things right after the gaffe. Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said security was provided at the homes of Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz following Sunday's blunder, in which an envelope mix-up led to the announcement of the wrong film as best picture winner during the live TV broadcast. PwC gave no details but celebrity website TMZ.com said the pair had received death threats on social media and that photos of their homes had been posted online. Cullinan, who posted a now-deleted backstage photo of Emma Stone on Twitter just before the gaffe, and Ruiz were barred on Wednesday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from taking part in the Oscars ceremony or ballot counting ever again.

Oscar show stage manager Gary Natoli told Hollywood website TheWrap that the two had frozen backstage when things went wrong during the climax of Sunday's ceremony. Natoli said he was standing near Ruiz when actors Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway incorrectly announced on stage that musical La La Land had won the top award for best picture. The actual winner of best picture was independent film, Moonlight. - Reuters

Cosby claimants claims dismissed

Three women who had accused Bill Cosby of the intentional infliction of emotional distress in a Massachusetts case have had those claims dismissed. A document filed on Friday in federal court shows the claims were dismissed after Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz and Joan Tarshis conferred about the viability of the claims. The women are among dozens who’ve alleged Cosby molested them decades ago.

Cosby is set to go on trial in June in another case. He’s accused of sexually assaulting a former Temple University employee at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Prosecutors had hoped to call Serignese and a dozen other women to testify at the trial. A judge blocked all but one of them from testifying. Cosby has pleaded not guilty. - AP

Brie Larson says shooting kong was no monkey business

Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson says shooting her forthcoming film Kong: Skull Island was physically taxing in a way that she has "never experienced before". The film, set in the early 1970s and a reboot of the King Kong franchise, is slated to release on March 10.

“There’s a lot of movement in this film. So, it was really physically taxing in a way I’ve never experienced before. I had never gotten to that point where I’m really pushing myself to the limit, and it’s amazing what your body can do. It’s fun,” Larson said in a statement.

Larson plays the role of a photo-journalist in the film, which is all about tracing and capturing a giant monstrous ape named Kong.

Larson says she had a trainer to help her for her role. She said: "I had done that before when I did Room, but it was a different kind of training. For Room, it was about trying to get myself wiry and small, and for Kong: Skull Island, it was about bulking up. You sit differently in your body when you have that type of strength." - IANS

Cumberbatch dismisses Infinity Wars rumours

Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch has shot down rumours that he will be replaced by a stand-in for the character's scenes in the forthcoming film Avengers: Infinity War due to scheduling conflicts. According to rumours, Cumberbatch was too busy filming his upcoming movie The Current War to appear in Avengers: Infinity War. "I think it's a bit of an exaggeration. There's a great deal that can be done in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and any comic universe. Whether it's hiding a pregnancy, to having someone there who's on another side of the world, but there's only so much they can do without you. So, I'll be there. Don't worry," Cumberbatch said. Besides Cumberbatch, other Avengers: Infinity War ensemble cast members include Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan and Dave Bautista. Avengers: Infinity War will release next year. -IANS